ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 2477 http://www.s-gabriel.org/2477 ************************************ 17 Mar 2002 From: (Josh Mittleman) Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel! You asked if the name, was historically accurate for an eastern German persona in the late 15th/early 16th century. This is what we have found. The name is a fine choice. It became popular in the 11th and 12th century [1, 2] and remained in use throughout our period, at least in some parts of Germany. We have examples of it in Plauen, in eastern Germany, in the first half of the 16th century [3]. was the name of a small town located in the county of Belgard in the former German province of Pommerania. This spelling of the place name appears in a mid-17th century document, so it is probably appropriate for your period [4]. Although we do not have an example of in Pommerania, we think the combination is reasonably good re-creation. By the 16th century, surnames using were used mostly by the nobility. The word itself did not imply noble rank -- in earlier centuries, it was used by all classes -- but commoners in most places dropped it over the course of the 15th and 16th centuries. If you prefer a name more likely for a commoner, then you might consider or , both of which have the same meaning [5]. I was assisted in the research and writing of this letter by Arval Benicoeur, Aryanhwy merch Catmael, Blaise de Cormeilles, Falk vom Weserbogen, Maridonna Benvenuti and Talan Gwynek. For the Academy, Caitriona inghean Ui Bhraonain 17 Mar 2002 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - References: [1] Socin, Adolf. Mittelhochdeutsches Namenbuch nach Oberrheinischen Quellen des Zwoelften und Dreizehnten Jahrhunderts (Hildesheim: Georg Olms Verlagsbuchhandlung, 1966), Ch. XV, XVI, especially pp. 303, 310. [2] Seibicke, Wilfried, _Historisches Deutsches Vornamenbuch_ (de Gruyter, series, various dates), s.n. Karl. [3] Talan Gwynek, "Late Period German Masculine Given Names" (WWW: J. Mittleman, 1997). http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/talan/germmasc/ [4] Einwohnerverzeichnis nach den Steuererhebungen von 1655 und 1666; Koeln-Graz 1966 (Veroeffentlichungen der Historischen Kommission fuer Pommern Reihe IV: Quellen zur pommerschen Geschichte, Heft 7) http://www.charly.ping.de/bibliothek/schulm-o.htm#P [5] Schwarz, Ernst. Deutsche Namenforschung I: Ruf- und Familiennamen (Goettingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1949), pp. 101ff, 164.